Categories
Revitalization

Exposing Postmodernism

Is the Christian to fear the culture he or she lives in? Abortion, LGBTQ, Atheism, and a host of other worldviews flood today’s marketplace as a substitute to replace the nation’s Judeo-Christian heritage worldview. In the case that you have been asleep for the past thirty years, the transition from religious to secular has already taken place.

As modernity has shifted to postmodernity and the nation has shifted from Christian to post-Christian, I encounter many believers who stand between the times and are confused as to what to do. Really, these believers should not have been caught off-guard, but that’s another article I do not have time to write. What is important is that we do help the Christians who have repented of their ignorance and are genuinely seeking guidance in how they are to live for Christ now. To the believer who desires to keep his ostrich head stuck in the sand, I cannot help you out at this time.

Has secularism won the day? Has postmodernism painted a picture as a point of no return – as a worldview that has finally defeated Christianity? Has religious pluralism gone as far in tolerance to now eclipse intolerant Christianity? NO, NO, NO!

From a worldly perspective and a judgment based off of the numbers, the secularist would say YES. But as Christ-followers, we know and understand a kingdom perspective that reveals time from beginning to end. At the end of the day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus as Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). But that fact still doesn’t answer how we confront postmodernism today.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must not only confront postmodernism, we must expose it. It seems almost impossible from the start. I mean, how do you share meaning with someone who doesn’t believe that meaning exists. How can you help someone who does not believe in absolute truth and defines their own right and wrong? How do you take the self-absorbed and self-centered individual to a place where he or she admits there is a God and they are accountable to Him? Obviously, postmodernism does not make sense and is not rational (why modernity has passed), but this of course, is exactly why the postmodern embraces his worldview. We all remember tv shows in the 90’s like Seinfield which were popular because they were shows about nothing. Exposing the emptiness in postmodernism is not enough. The emptiness is what attracts the postmodern to his or her view and to watch his or her show (its ok to watch Seinfield, but to the ignorant, that show is now 25 years old). Postmodernism did not occur overnight. It was a process and it is not going away anytime soon.

But, ahhhhhh, maybe we are on to something (Read my last sentence carefully). Postmodernism will not last forever. It will eventually run its course and there will be a new worldview to overtake it as much as it has overtaken modernity. For the postmodern, culture becomes his enemy. Why? Because he or she can never escape it. Even if you dwindle all future cultures to a culture of the self, you still have a culture. Culture reveals a Creator. Though the naturalist would deny this Creator, the naturalist cannot escape the creation or the culture that he is in. Though he has placed himself above God, his sin (he will not use this word, perhaps “crime” or “disease” in this therapeutic culture) keeps creeping up. With moral standards all but gone, he cannot but think a lot about himself and a lot of himself. Though he denies moral reality, the image of God within him keeps telling him he was created as a moral agent. It is at this point that creation becomes the gospel’s ally. Fallen postmodern man in denial of moral reality has not found a way to live comfortably and still yearns spiritually for something more. In short, he cannot save himself or find the means to salvation within himself.

Here are some helpful quotes from David Wells in Losing Our Virtue:

“We are, as a result, caught. We are condemned forever to the jarring uncertainties that come from being morally and spiritually out of step with who we are by creation. The more we sin, the greater the contradiction with what we are in the image of God; . . . It is this frustration, I believe, that gives Christian faith its best access to a postmodern culture that has given up on serious thought, rational argument, and historical defenses.” – p. 192

“In understanding God, we understand something of ourselves, and in understanding ourselves, we understand something of God.” – p. 193

“Our postmodern spiritual disjunctions, our inward contradictions, on which we place such a morally neutered assessment, can be the very hand that leads us to God, because they lead us back into moral reality.” – p. 193

“We cannot elude our own moral nature or its corruption. We know ourselves to be moral agents, but there is always a residue of moral unease when the day is done. Our experience is thus shot through with ambiguity. Spates of pleasure-seeking are followed by seasons of regret; well-meaning actions, by those that are malicious, vindictive, or craven; hope in our ability to take hold of life in good ways, by despair that we have not succeeded in doing so. We party on Saturday and repent on Sunday. This tangle of contradictions we are unable to untangle because of both the power of sin and the intent of God. It is this inability that points us back, even in our advanced postmodernity, to the Cross, because there simply is no other place of resolution.

If, then, we, in this generation have lost our ability to name sin – and we have – we have nevertheless not lost our sin. We may call it by other names, we may not recognize it at all, and we always misinterpret it. Our moral radar is defunct. And yet, moral reality keeps intruding into our experience; the threads of moral existence are ever present. It is thus that creation is the great ally of the Gospel, while culture and fallen self are its great enemies. This is the awful contradiction that cuts through all of life, and it offers the most telling entrée for the Gospel into the postmodern soul.” – p. 196

Forgive me if I sound harsh to the ostrich, but David wrote this in 1998, a century ago (you know what I mean, “last century”). Wake up ostrich, one-hundred years is no different than nineteen if your head is in the sand.

Categories
Family

NGM: “the sheep follow the lambs”

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” -John 21:15

When I read of Jesus commanding Peter to feed his sheep, I think about how Jesus reinstates Peter after an epoch fail. Remember, Peter had denied the Lord three times after telling the Lord he would never deny him. In this passage, Jesus asks Peter three times if Peter loves him, and after three times of Peter saying yes, Jesus tells Peter to feed his sheep. Or does he?

Read John 21:15 closely. Does Jesus tell Peter to feed his sheep or to feed his lambs? Jesus tells Peter to feed his lambs. However, Jesus does tell Peter to tend to or feed his sheep in the second and third answer to his question (John 21:16-17).

In next generation ministry (NGM), Dr. Jeff Lovingood is famously quoted for saying “the cow follows the calf.” In other words, a good next generation ministry will attract students which in-turn will attract families. There have also been many occasions where students have led their parents and or guardians to the Lord!

I wonder in reading John 21:15-19 if Jesus isn’t telling Peter, “the sheep follow the lambs.” I know Jesus doesn’t say those words and may not even mean them. But the statement does make sense and I do wonder why Jesus told Peter to feed his lambs before he told him to feed his sheep. Yes, lambs are sheep and sheep are lambs, but I think Jesus may be saying something more than we often give him credit for.

Or maybe Jesus just wanted to build Peter back up slowly. After all, Peter allowed two servant-girls to intimidate him as he denied Christ, so perhaps he needed to start with the next generation as he patch-worked his faith (Mat 26:69-72).

There are questions we will never know the answer to on earth until we meet Jesus in heaven. But for now, I am going to speculate that Jesus looked at Peter as a next generation leader. I know Peter was called the rock, wrote epistles, preached, and founded churches as an apostle. However, if Peter followed through on loving Jesus by feeding Jesus’s lambs, then Peter ministered to the next generation!

Technically, adult sheep are labeled as tup (male) or ewe (female). Sheep, like adults, require shepherding and care. But lambs, like children, require more supervision, nurture, and protection than sheep. All sheep need fed, but lamb food will look somewhat different than sheep food in both portion size and in substance (think milk). And the differences multiply when you compare sheep to cows. Sheep101.info says, “compared to cattle, sheep eat a greater variety of plants.” Perhaps it would be better for us to say “the sheep follow the lambs” instead of “the cow follows the calf.” No, it doesn’t sound as good, but it makes sense when we consider ourselves as sheep and Jesus as our Chief Shepherd.

Categories
Prophecy

Man or Beast?

I want to warn you up front that this post will be longer than usual, but I am convinced this post will be worth your read.

I am not a prophet and do not claim to be. However, I do believe I see what the future beholds and I do not like what I see for the generations to come. It is tough enough being a family, a parent, a student, or a leader living for Christ in today’s world. Although God always leaves a remnant, the world itself is not getting any better. When I say the future, let me for the sake of time cap it at 100 years from now. On a natural level, I don’t think you will find a man wearing a tie in the future. I would compare it to the way in which today we view wigs worn by men in colonial times.

But the future spiritual landscape is my main concern in this post. I would encourage you to read some background passages such as 2 Peter 2 which speaks of false teachers and their destruction and Jude 1 which speaks to the sin and doom of godless men. Below are the two key verses found in each passage.

But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish. – 2 Peter 2:12

But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. –Jude 1:10

Notice the descriptive words that various translations of Scripture use to describe such men: unreasoning, unthinking or irrational animals, creatures of instinct, brute beasts. I think in the future, we will witness a land full of inhumane mutants or beasts (as you will read below, these men are humans stripped of all virtue). What events lead up to these occasions? How do we get there? Sure, these type of men have always existed, but I think in the end days, we will witness a multitude of brute beasts. Also, let’s not forget about the beast mentioned in Revelation. Perhaps he is the beast of beasts and forces others to receive the mark of the beast.

I want to share a long excerpt with your from Chuck Colson’s book, How Now Shall We Live? I am going to italicize some key words that I want you to center your attention on.

“The great Christian apologist C. S. Lewis warned that the rise of scientific naturalism would lead to the ‘the abolition of man,’ for it denies the reality of those things central to our humanity: our sense of right and wrong, of purpose, of beauty, of God. And if we deny the things that truly make us human, then we will create a culture that is, by definition, inhuman. If we treat morality as subjective feeling, then moral ideals will be relegated to the private realm, and the public realm will be stripped of all morality. If we deny the reality of the virtues that make us superior to beasts, then those virtues wither away, reducing to the level of beasts. Thus while science has created technological advances that make life easier and healthier, when science is confused with the philosophy of scientific naturalism, it destroys the very things that make life worth living. We gain control over the natural world at the cost of our own souls. Lewis foresaw this predicament clearly. ‘For the wise men of old,’ he wrote, ‘the cardinal problem had been how to conform the soul to reality, and the solution had been knowledge, self-discipline, and virtue.” The purpose of life was defined in terms of the growth of the soul, and there was an abiding moral standard to which to conform. But for the contemporary technical mind-set, ‘the problem is how to subdue reality to the wishes of men: the solution is a technique.’ This mind-set acknowledges no abiding standards, so there is nothing to check the human desire for control and domination.”

Let me start with the abolition of man. In recent times past, there was a worthwhile push to abolish slavery. The battle that lies ahead is one in which we will need to push that man himself not be abolished.

In his article, “Transgender Identity-Wishing Away God’s Design,” Owen Strachan brilliantly explains the “brave new order” or “how our culture now views the body.” Bear with me as I provide you with another long excerpt with more italicized words that I wish to highlight.

“Over the last 50 years, American Christians have watched as our society has fashioned a brave new order for itself. Feminism and the sexual revolution have transformed the American home. Many men have lost any sense of responsibility for their family. They’re tuned out, passive, and self-focused. Many women feel great tension between their career and home. They are told by secular lifestyle magazines to pursue perfect “work-life” balance, but it’s hard to find. Increasingly, the sexes are in competition. These troubling developments represent phase one of the transformation of men and women.

Phase two is the spread of the homosexual movement. Led by celebrities in the 1980s, the homosexual movement built off of the momentum of the feminist push and the sexual revolution. It sought to mainstream homosexual behavior. Men and women, it assumed, were not different in any meaningful way. The moral constraints of the biblical worldview had already been cast off. Romantic love was not subject to any shape or design. It was just a feeling. As such, it had no duties, no covenantal dimensions, and no enduring commitment. If it persisted, great. If the feeling of love died out, then the relationship died with it.

In phase one, gender roles were recast. In phase two, romantic love was recast. In phase three, the body itself is recast. “Transgender” ideology is grounded in the idea that the body isn’t an essential part of our being (a viewpoint known as essentialism). Our “gender identity” is fluid, a social construct that can change. We may well be a man trapped in a woman’s body, for example; our identity does not necessarily match our body. In such instances, many “transgender” people opt for reconstructive surgery so their identity fits with their body (an essentialist view, ironically).”

Have you made the connection yet? In a land where man is stripped of virtue and objective truth, man doesn’t have to be man. Man can be a woman, an animal, or anything else he desires to be. The Bible tells the truth. Man became beast.

We already live in a somewhat inhuman world. A world where you can ride the subway for two hours and not witness one human being speaking to another. A world where people are so self-inundated and self-absorbed with their phones, their beats, and themselves to the point that others are not considered because they are not seen. A world where people are politically correct robots that lack personality. We are staring ourselves into oblivion and paying the social price. When communication goes out the door, relationships are impossible. And ultimately, it is a relationship that God desires us to have with him.

For man, the only constant is change. The great thing about God is he is immutable or unchanging. A.W. Tozer writes in The Knowledge of the Holy, “there can be no mutation in the moral character of God, so there can be none within the divine essence.” Whereas man is both mutable and mortal, God is neither. Tozer states, “each man appears for a little while to laugh and weep, to work and play, and then go to make room for those who shall follow him in the never-ending cycle,” but that “God differs from His creatures in being self-existent, self-sufficient, and eternal.” God does not grow or develop. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8).

Man can change himself into a beast, but God will remain the same. God is holy and there is no such thing as God becoming better or worse. All of God’s promises are yes and amen so His word cannot change either (2 Cor 1:20). We really have two choices: (1) Change ourselves into what we want to be, or (2) Allow God to conform us into the beautiful image of his Son. Become a beast or become the man or woman God desires you to be.

Categories
Family Great Commission

NGM or the American Dream?

At the heart of NGM lies the Great Commandment (Mat 22:35-40) and the Great Commission (Mat 28:19-20). Does the American Dream concept line up with either of the GC’s?

Allow me to tackle the idea of the American Dream first.

One version of the American Dream illustrates a solid family structure with mom in the kitchen, dad grilling out, and kids playing in the yard behind a white picket fence. Granted, there are some homes that still paint that picture today, but I would submit that those pictures are becoming harder to find. Remember when you visited a family in their home and spotted family pictures on the wall or on the shelf? Whereas the traditional nuclear family used to be the social norm, it now appears as abnormal. Brokenness and dysfunction are the themes that rule our day.

A second version of the American Dream states that if you work hard enough, you can be whatever you want to be. Elements of this version are still at work today. It is good to dream. Many inventions would have never been created without the ingenuity or ideas of the dreamer. And Americans often do dedicate themselves to becoming what they have always dreamed about and then later find themselves living their dream out. These are all good things. But what about those dreamers who will never have the ability, talent, or opportunity to do what they were told they always could do. I dreamed of playing in the NBA as a child and dedicated my early life to accomplishing that goal. But my height coupled with my vertical leap (I can jump, but not as high as an NBA player) would never allow me live that dream. At some point, reality sets in and some dreams do die. You can’t always be whatever you want to be.

I am sure there are other versions of the American Dream but I am not going to tackle all of these today. Suffice to say, some of us need to tear the picket fence down, take the pictures off the wall, and or let reality set in. In other words, we need to admit that there are aspects of the American Dream that could shatter before our teary eyes. Yes, in some ways, we were given a lie and we need to call it out for what it is. The American Dream is not all fantasy as some do achieve it. However, the American Dream pales in comparison to the great call of Jesus to love God, love others, and to make disciples of all nations. The American Dream is for Americans and limited in scope. The Great Commission is for all nations. The American Dream is for the here and now. The Great Commission encompasses all time and its efforts will echo for an eternity. The American Dream pleases the self. Obeying the GC’s bring glory to God. Let’s choose to do next generation ministry and fulfill the GC’s over and beyond any call to live the American Dream.

Categories
Creativity

Coming Soon to a Church near you

In 2017, everything is overdone and overblown. News coverage and headlines for politics, sports, and even the weather is streaming 24/7. While we sleep, our smartphones collect the latest happenings around the world and place it on our screens for us to view as soon as we awake (remember when we woke up and the first thing we did was read the Bible, just saying).

However, I think we have lost something amidst all of our instantaneous news gratification. Whatever happened to waiting in anticipation or for that matter, waiting on God? I can remember the hype and excitement that would bubble up within me as I once awaited the date for special television events to arrive. News didn’t happen overnight. These “once-in-a-while” and “bigger-than-life” events were not broadcast every day on TV like they are now. No, I had to wait sometimes months for the special events to come, and when they finally did, I taped them. The special events often came with an announcer or commentator that made the program worth the watch!

A lot of the up and coming announcers on TV today have all the knowledge in the world. They know what they are talking about, speak well, and are politically correct. But all I hear is Blah. They are too plain or vanilla. Where’s the charisma, the originality, the following? Where’s the passion, the flavor, the energy? The old-school announcers made the special events we watched fun. There’s no flavor anymore. Like many in our world, the announcers of today have been cloned and mass produced in a cookie-cutter approach. There are no standouts. There is nothing particularly unique about them. This is because spokespeople for the media today are doing nothing more than what their bosses tell them to do so that their station’s biased worldview will be presented and so that certain groups won’t be offended. In other words, they’re not allowed to be themselves anymore. They are just a puppet on a string.  

It’s also sad commentary that “we the people” have to visit to other countries websites, etc. to get the true news about our own.  Everyone seems to have their own opinion on what is happening in the world and likes to share it on their social media accounts. Amidst all the subjectivity, we have lost the objective truth found in God’s Word. When everyone plays the game of life (and it’s not a game) by their own rules, someone is bound to get hurt.

Isn’t it great that we have the best news in the world called the gospel and it comes to us in the unfiltered and unadulterated form of the Bible. The Bible is true news and news that stands the test of time. Bible characters are real people depicted not through rose-colored glasses as perfect people, but rather as people who have glaring weaknesses. They, like us, have been body-slammed by life’s circumstances and need a Savior to lift them off the mat.

Over a year ago, I did some strategic planning for NGM in my context. I live in the deep South, and in the deep South, there are some old-school wrestling fans. The church facility I worship in is a metal building and has the same appearance as a nearby building where local wrestlers meet on the weekends to compete against each other. I received an idea from the Lord to plan an evangelistic event whereby my church would bring in an ex-wrestler to speak to the lost in a facility where they would feel right at home.

Thirty years ago, wrestling stars like Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, the Macho Man, the Ultimate Warrior, Sting, and Lex Luger would wrestle their big matches on pay-per-view. Back then, pay-per-view events weren’t every week and thousands would order. Because of the high price, I would turn to my scrambled cable channel and do my best to hear any mumbled words I could and see any glitched pictures that might appear.

In three months (yes, you will have to wait), The Heights Church is bringing in former five-time WCW Champion Nikita Koloff, “The Russian Nightmare” to share his story about how the Champion of Life, Jesus Christ came to his rescue. If you happen to be anywhere in the local vicinity, feel free to come by and join us for this main event on Sunday, May 7 @ 11 AM.  I promise you there will be no dropkicks or elbow drops from the top rope.  

Categories
Great Commission

NGM mantra and anthem

Mantra: Seek to understand before being understood

I cannot remember a time where our nation has been divided on so many fronts. Much of the polarization does stem from generational differences, but not all. In talking to the next generation, one does however, need to be cognizant of the generational gap or disconnect. Recent sports talk has highlighted how old-school NBA players view current NBA players and vice versa. Charles Barkley, an NBA superstar in the 80’s called this generation of players “AAU babies” and too sensitive. However, another 80’s tough guy and ex-NBA player Charles Oakley was kicked out of Madison Square Garden this week after placing his hands on security. Have we stopped to consider that both sides may have a valid point and that we may not have to choose sides or to the point, choose generations?

I was recently discussing the Super Bowl Halftime show featuring Lady Gaga with a student of mine. We entered the discussion with two different viewpoints. For starters, he loved the show and I hated it. My problem was not with Lady Gaga as much as it was the image of America she portrayed as she sang “God Bless America” and “This Land is My Land.” Lady Gaga is a sex image and I understand that she portrays America to a tee in 2017. What I wanted my friend (from the next generation) to understand was that these songs took on different meanings in 1987 and America would not have allowed Lady Gaga to sing these songs thirty years ago before a Super Bowl began. As the country has become secularized, it makes perfect sense that Lady Gaga would be America’s choice to represent the country to the world today.

What my friend wanted me to understand was that Lady Gaga did the opposite of what he expected. She was not overtly political and was conservative compared to past Super Bowl performances (remember Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction). I told my friend that I did not think Lady Gaga’s dance moves were that conservative (and the picture you see above is not from this year’s Super Bowl).

Here is what I want you to take from my encounter. My friend and I did not get in an argument. We both heard each other’s viewpoints and walked away with a better understanding. We were both right. The America I grew up in is not the America he grew up in. While I grew up in the 80’s singing the same songs at PTA with a nationalistic pride, he grew up in country where not recycling is viewed as worse than looking at porn (don’t believe me, just read Barna).

I find it disheartening that our nation’s morals have plummeted over the past thirty years, but let’s not blame the next generation for all of our generation’s failures. And in fact, it wasn’t all of our generation’s failures that are to blame either. Every generation inherits sinful natures, attitudes, and behaviors from the generations preceding. Let’s help the next generation understand we all have a sin problem and we all need a Savior!

Anthem:

I see your generation standing on the truth In each and everyday saying God is on the move Anytime the Gospel stirs a searching souls And someone says “send me, here I go

I know, I know, I know, I know God is on the move, on the move Hallelujah God is on the move In many mighty ways God is on the move, on the move Hallelujah God is on the move On the move today

I recently heard this song on the radio and the first line that I wrote above rang in my ears as clear as a bell. This is NGM’s anthem! When someone from the next generation responds to personally fulfill and advance the Great Commission (Mat 28:19-20), God is on the move! NGM is all about gospel advance and reaching the nations. To do so, the next generation must stand on the truth. The anthem is missional, but it is also theological. Missions without theology or theology without missions creates an off-kilter balance that ends up awry from the start. The next generation must both be crazy about going but just as crazy about the truth!

Categories
Politics

Make America Spiritually Great Again

When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan. -Proverbs 29:2

Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people. –Proverbs 14:34

A new day has dawned. Perhaps you were one of the millions watching a live screen of President Trump’s inauguration today. If so, you will most likely remember where you were when President Trump placed his hand on the Bible and was sworn into office. I was sitting in a chapel room with K-12th grade Christian school students. I found myself reminiscing my childhood times when President Ronald Reagan was leading the USA and patriotism was running high.

Morals and values were highly prized in that day and time. The next generation knows nothing of the days when America was spiritually great. They don’t know what the Jesus Movement was or how thousands of hippies gave their lives to Christ in the 70’s claiming One Way! The name Billy Graham, in the mind and hearts of the next generation, is synonymous to Joe Smith (just an ordinary name).

If you’re a 14 year-old living in America today, all you can remember is one President and his name is Obama. All you’ve known is division, terrorism, and that the government has promoted the homosexual and the transgender lifestyle. You’ve seen power stripped from police in uniform and given to the people. And you’ve known nothing but a media that is set on its own agenda. Yes, if you’re 14, all moral innocence and purity has been lost and America has not been so great to you.

I was reading an old blog post written by the late Adrian Rogers on this historic day and wanted to share some insights from this great pastor:

It appears that most Americans believe the economy is the top issue. But I had rather leave my children and grandchildren the legacy of a godly nation than great wealth to be squandered in a godless society. No, righteousness is our greatest need.

When we lose character—righteousness—then we will lose liberty. People who cannot live responsibly from within must be governed from without.

When government takes over, whatever it subsidizes, it must control. An example is our educational system—subsidized by government—which has gradually outlawed God in our schools. In place of the Ten Commandments, we have values clarification, the glories of our welfare state, one-world government and a new world order. Hitler said in 1920, “Give me the minds of the children, and in one generation I will give you the Fascist super state.” So in our public schools, the Bible is out and humanism is in.

As far back as 1983, The Humanist magazine stated, “The battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith. The classroom must and will become the arena of conflict between the old and the new, the rotting corpse of Christianity and the faith of humanism.” Classrooms became Humanism’s newly designated “Sunday School.”

Our forefathers said that our government is to “provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare.” Not “provide the general welfare.” When we see the government as a cow to be milked rather than a watch dog to be fed, we’re in trouble. Give us a land where freeborn Americans can go out and do what the Bible says: work. For “if a man will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thess. 3:10).

These are great quotes to read on a day like today! Trump said in his inauguration speech that he wants to put the power back into the hands of the people. This is a good thing but the real power is found in God, answering the prayers of his people. Where there is righteousness, there is liberty, and where there is liberty, there is room for God’s Spirit to work. Without a free country to live and work in, next generation ministry (NGM) might not even be possible.

The political structures and forms that are set up to guide both national and church governments matter. In a free country such as ours, next generation ministry can be attempted in a single-elder (single-pastor) or plural-elder congregational form of church government. No matter your choice, give next generation ministry a try and here’s my speech: “Let’s make America spiritually great again.”

Categories
Next Generation Ministry

NGM: Take the step

It’s a new year and perhaps you’re considering making the move. Is your church ready to move away from traditional children and youth ministry by making the leap to next generation ministry? It is a leap . . . a leap of faith. What will the pastor think? What will the people (the members) think? Will they back you or will you lose your job?

Faith is the opposite of fear. Worry and doubt often creep in replacing peace and prayer. But don’t lose heart. Many great feats would never have happened had fear won the day. Would man have ever landed on the moon? Would Columbus have ever sailed the ocean blue? Missionaries GO because the risk is worth the reward — even if they lose their life, they know what awaits them in heaven.

You do need to get your pastor’s blessing before moving ahead and it would be good to give your families, leaders, and students a heads up with informational meetings preceding the move. But at the end of the day, you still have to jump. And you have to bring a significant number with you.

I can’t promise you everything is going to be smooth. I’m almost two years into my next generation ministry experiment and not everything has run as planned. Sometimes leaders don’t show, curriculum goes missing, and on some weeks, the crowd may wane, but it is important to stay the course. Ministry is a marathon, not a sprint. I know I am glad I didn’t go back. NGM is a great model because of the unity it will bring your church family as it works within an overarching strategy for making disciples of the next generation. NGM is also family-friendly and intergenerational-friendly.

Allow for me to give you two examples for encouragement as you near the cliff and attempt to jump to the other side. I recently went to the movies and watched Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. As I watched, there was one character that stood out to me, not to mention the sassy K-2SO droid. Chirrut Imre was a blind human male born on the moon Jedha. He was of the order of spiritual warrior-monks of a group called Guardians of the Whills. I’ll skip all the biographical information about Chirrut and just say I liked him because he could kick butt. A blind man who knows how to use a weapon and take names!!!

Second example: As a child growing up in the state of Georgia, I became familiar with a man who pioneered the genre of soul music during the 1950’s by combining blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles. Known as “The Genius,” this man was blind from the age of seven. I knew of him because he famously recorded the state song Georgia On My Mind. Yes, I am talking about Ray Charles, the African-American man who sat behind a piano with his shades on and could play you straight to sleep.

Both Chirrut and Ray were blind, but their lack of sight did not prohibit them from being great. Yes, one character is fictional and one is not, but in their own world, they exhibited a trait that goes against the grain. They went against all odds and came out on top. Helen Keller comes to mind too as she was both deaf and blind but still earned a college degree.

Go ahead . . . JUMP! But before you do, let’s add one item to the mix: a blindfold. If God is calling you to jump, he is going to make sure your feet land on the other side—so we might as well make this jump look exciting and daring. I can’t help but think of daredevil Nick Wallenda right now, known for his tightrope walks and high wire acts which are done without a safety net in place.

As you look across (don’t look down) and pray above, I feel led to leave you with Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

Categories
Parenting

NGM: Parents are Primary

Next generation ministry prioritizes parents! Next Generation leaders understand that parents are the primary spiritual disciple-makers, primary spiritual influencers, primary spiritual nurturers, primary spiritual trainers, and primary spiritual leaders of their children. Next generation ministry leaders work hand in hand with parents so that the church and the family can partner together to raise spiritual champions.

Rob Rienow states that God created the home to be “the spiritual transformation center.”[1] Parents should serve their children as spiritual guides passing their spiritual heritage down to their children in spiritual conversations and spiritual actions. If parents are faithful to hand their spiritual heritage off to their children, spiritual growth and spiritual health will develop and a spiritual legacy can continue or begin.

Parents should have family Bible times in the home. These family gatherings could include a time of Bible story, prayer, song, game, and food. Making the event an intergenerational family meeting is all the better as many families have grandparents living in-home. As family worship meetings occur, families engage in spiritual disciplines resulting in both spiritual formation and spiritual maturity in the lives of those who attend.

Lync Taylor, next generation and family pastor at Brentwood Baptist Church in Nashville, TN has identified eight components that are central for next generation leaders leading next generation family ministry: (1) Create family ministry purpose and goals, (2) Understand that equipping the home is the central place of influence, (3) Build your family ministry on biblical truths, (4) Have an intentional comprehensive strategy, (5) Keep age-graded ministries as a vital part of church programming while championing the home, (6) Develop catalyst spiritual conversations that parents can have with their children, (7) Help parents grow spiritually themselves, and (8) Capture stories that convey the telling of life change.

Lync also discovered five methods for equipping and resourcing next generation families: (1) Focus studies, (2) Coaching guide that includes conversation starters, missional ideas, and daily devotionals, (3) Parent classes, (4) Weekly emails, and (5) Resource area somewhere in the church. Lync says next generation parents should leverage teachable opportunities (“God-moments”) and exert daily spiritual influence (“As you go”) on their children.

Timothy Paul Jones has noted how every next generation family event must TIE into the parents. TIE stands for the next generation leaders Training, Involving, and Equipping parents to be the primary spiritual disciple-maker of their children.

[1] Rob Rienow, Visionary Parenting: Capture a God-Sized Vision for Your Family (Nashville: Randall House, 2009), 9.

Categories
Great Commission

2017: What are you scared of?

I am beaming with excitement for the year 2017!  I have waited in great anticipation for a book that comes out this year entitled Share Jesus Without Freaking Out by Alvin Reid.  I plan to buy copies of this book to share with all the leaders and students in my next generation ministry. And I would encourage you too to purchase this book as well.

Dr. Reid or Doc as I call him (we are good friends) has often told me the #1 fear in America is public speaking and the #2 fear is snakes. As a middle school student, I loved snakes and wanted to become a herpetologist.  Now, I’m glad I’ve changed my professional aspirations! In middle school, I got nervous speaking, but now I rather enjoy it.  The point I’m making is our fears tend to change over time, but I can understand if you still hate snakes and making speeches (most of America does).

I have other fears though, fears of which will probably make you laugh. When I walk into a post office, I feel like a lost puppy. I don’t know what to do. Tax work scares me. I feel awkward at banks, can’t relate to tellers, and though I like the sound of the drive thru tube, just give me the ATM. I still hate heights, won’t ride a roller coaster, and though I don’t mind flying, airports aren’t my thing.

Maybe you feel right at home while walking in or working at a bank, post office, or airport, while it scares me to death.  Our differences are what makes the world go around.  And as you can see, we often fear different things.

Fear or no fear, Christians are not sharing the gospel like they need to. I think sharing Jesus has become the Christian’s #1 fear. How many Christians do you know of that don’t even say the name of Jesus at home. You don’t have to tell the next generation that you’re scared to tell others about Jesus.  They already know. They are your kids, your grandkids and they’ve been watching you for all the years you’ve been alive.  When you don’t talk about Jesus at home, you’re sure not going to talk about him in the world.

Go ahead, say it…Jesus…there—you did it!…and don’t just say it at church by finishing the hymn out…the sweetest name I know. If his name is really that sweet, you need to get used to saying it wherever you go…at school…at work…to your neighbor…at the lunch table…and the list goes on.  It’s not a duty, it’s a privilege.  You talk about that which you love the most, that which you are most passionate about, but the church has made sharing Jesus sound so complicated, that no one feels capable of doing it or that it’s even possible of being done.

You don’t have to rehearse a perfect gospel presentation or go to a twelve-week training program on evangelism before you start telling others about what Jesus has done for you. All you have to do is open your mouth! The Holy Spirit is pretty good at giving you words too! The outlines, the canned presentations, etc. aren’t bad and can assist you in this endeavor. But why not start with a natural conversation as opposed to an awkward presentation. This way, both you and your hearer will feel more comfortable.

People have always needed to know about hell, but if that’s all they hear you screaming, I’d be running the other way too! We’re not supposed to be hollering madmen scaring away those we’re trying to win to Christ. It’s often the scared man who begins to open his mouth and proclaim Christ that finds success. It’s because this timid soul comes across as someone who doesn’t have it all together. Oh…you mean, they’re just like you and me? Now, I can listen to a guy like that!

Don’t freak out! Just be yourself. When you come across as that person who doesn’t have all the answers, I think you’ll find people are more willing to listen to what you do have to say.  And guess what, they’ll probably ask you more questions and you will probably have some questions for them…funny how that works. Need a resolution for the New Year? How about sharing Jesus without freaking out!